University of Chicago Divinity School
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1891 |
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Academic staff
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36 full-time, 14 associated, 5 visiting, 19 teaching pastors |
| Address | 1025 E 58th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60637, Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Campus | Urban |
| Affiliations | University of Chicago, Hyde Park Cluster of Theological Schools |
| Website | divinity.uchicago.edu/ |
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The University of Chicago Divinity School is a graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any sectarian affiliations.
It is ranked number one in the field of the study of religion according to the National Research Council's measure of faculty quality in its survey of all doctoral granting programs in religious studies. Along with the departments of religious studies/religion at Harvard, Yale and Columbia University, it is responsible for training the majority of those appointed to tenure track positions in religious studies at American universities. The school offers courses leading to the Ph.D. in history of religions, anthropology and sociology of religion, religion and literature, history of Christianity, history of Judaism, Islamic studies, biblical studies, philosophy of religion, theology, religious ethics, and religion in America.
The University of Chicago Divinity School grants the following degrees:
The Divinity School also offers several dual degree programs:
M.Div./A.M. with the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy Studies A.M.R.S./J.D., A.M./J.D., M.Div./J.D., or Ph.D./J.D. with the University of Chicago Law School M.Div./A.M. with the School of Social Service Administration
In addition to candidates for the above, many Chicago graduate students pursuing PhDs in the humanities and social sciences work closely with Divinity School faculty, though they may be enrolled in the Departments of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, New Testament and Early Christian Literature, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, History, Anthropology, Philosophy, Comparative Literature, Classics, Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, or the Committee on Social Thought.
Candidates for the Ph.D. choose among 11 areas of academic focus:
The Faculty are organized into three Committees of Study:
The Committee on Religion and the Human Sciences
The Committee on Historical Studies in Religion
The Committee on Constructive Studies in Religion
The vision of establishing an institute for the advanced study of religion at the University of Chicago came from Joseph M. Kitagawa, the Dean of the Divinity School from 1970 to 1980. Martin E. Marty, a historian of modern Christianity, worked closely with Dean Kitagawa to formulate the purposes and operation of the institute within the context of the Divinity School's general mission of teaching and graduate research. The Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion officially opened in October 1979, with Professor Marty as its director. Subsequent directors have been Bernard McGinn (1983–1992), a historian of medieval Christianity; Frank Reynolds (1992–2000), a historian of religions who specializes in Buddhist studies; W. Clark Gilpin (2001–2004), a historian of American Christianity and theology; Wendy Doniger (2004–2007), a historian of religion who specializes in Hinduism and mythology; and William Schweiker, who works in the field of theological ethics. In 1998, the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion was renamed the Martin Marty Center, to honor its founding director for his singular distinction as historian, author, and commentator on religion and public life.
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